Center seeks funds to aid drug abuse referrals

Center seeks funds to aid drug abuse referrals

By BONNIE DeSIMONE

NEWS YPSILANTI BUREAU

YPSILANTI

YPSILANTI - The Ypsilanti Resource Center has allowed its mission to provide substance abuse referrals to get “lost in the shuffle,” according to new director Larry Hunter.

“That’s something we intend to change,” said Hunter, an Ann Arbor City Councilman whose roots are in Ypsilanti, having grown up a stone’s-throw away from the center in the public housing projects on the city's south side.

Hunter, named director two months ago, will appear before Ypsilanti City Council Tuesday night to request an additional $6,100 from the city, which gave the center $8,000 in 1984-85.

The money would be used to fund a part-time typist who would help put out a newsletter, do internal paperwork, and generally get the word out about the center's programs.

Hunter will base his appeal on the center’s position as the only agency serving the south side, and the only one in a position to focus on non-crisis-intervention substance abuse programming.

“My impression is that a lot of people want to help,” said Hunter.  "But they also want to know where their money is going.

"The ability on the part of the powers that be to discern our results has been lacking.  If they want that information, they'll fund the position."

Established in 1981, the center, which had a budget of about $50,000 last year, was originally intended to serve as a link between various social service agencies and the residents of Ypsilanti's primarily black south side.  It is funded largely by county sources.

The center's staff is made up of senior aides hired under the Older Americans Act, people working off sentences for minor offenses or towards a deferred sentence, and a handful of volunteers.

They administer the distribution of federal surplus food and put together emergency food and clothing packages as the need arises. They also provide advice for families utilities have been shut off, who need legal help, or who have gotten snagged in the ubiquitous red tape of federal or state aid programs.

Those functions will continue under a revamped center. But the need for outreach programs in substance abuse is acute, Hunter says.

“Alcoholism is rampant,” he said, noting that college drinking patterns-"see who can chug how much, and get really incapacitated"-have been adopted by high school-aged youths.  He lists heroin, marijuana and cocaine, in that order, as the most widely used drugs among city teenagers.

The center will target high school-aged students on down, Hunter said. One of the most difficult tasks, he said, will be working to eradicate the “live and let live” philosophy whereby peers and even adults ignore or even protect obvious alcoholics and drug addicts.

Hunter emphasizes that he is not qualified to do one-on-one drug or alcoholism counseling with youths or families. The center is applying for status as a United Way organization, and if it succeeds, a full-time “outreach director” capable of doing some counseling could be on board as early as this fall.

Funding for the outreach position, now occupied by former director Sister Nancy Christian, has been eliminated as of May 31.

A new outreach director, along with Hunter, would concentrate on disseminating information on drug and alcohol abuse at schools, church groups, and recreational groups at Parkridge Community Center. The proposed new south-side Catherine McAuley clinic would also present an opportunity for cooperation. Hunter said.

“We want to get into the area of prevention, to identify the kids who have the potential for substance abuse,” Hunter said.

Hunter is aware that the city is apt to be tight with its purse strings because of the possible loss of federal revenue sharing funds.

“My approach is that we’re just asking for the basics, and our budget and staff is inadequate,” he said. “We’re going to avoid the tendency of being an Ypsilanti warlord, trying to do too many things.

“But this part of the community has more than its share of problems, and this is where our focus is.”

LARRY HUNTER...director of Resource Center